Declan Rice

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I like him but not as much of an upgrade than Scott. Certainly don't think he can play on his own and anchor the midfield.
 
I think we have the solution already at the club and can use VdB as the inbetween. But that depends on Solskjaer and how he wants to construct the midfield. We also don't know what will happen with Pogba. But I think having a player like Rice next to Hannibal could really help him.

But I do believe we need a midfielder with Rice's profile who is strong defensively and can also keep the game ticking whilst being strong on either foot. He's also someone that looks to have the attributes to defend large spaces in the event of a counter attack, which is something we lack in our team when playing with more risk and committing more players forward. And he would also provide us a real possibility of playing a 4-3-3 formation aswell.

He is gonna be expensive but I can see both United and Chelsea being in the mix. And there's also been reports that Declan Rice isn't happy with the valuation West Ham have placed on him.

I think the club that misses out on Rice (United or Chelsea) will possibly end up signing Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco.

I was all aboard the ChooTchouameni train only to see you over on the Rice wagon! :eek: :D

I have to be honest, I'm not sure Van de Beek has enough, he can't drive with the ball and his passing range isn't particularly great, if Pogba goes as expected I could see us going safe with Tielemans.

With Rice I always said that the whole "He's no better than McTominay" stuff missed the point, on the ball it arguable overall, but defensively his positioning is clearly superior, it's his standout attribute, it's the parter we'd need wth him and ludicrous price West Ham want that purs me off.

Rice and Tchouameni seem to be at the top of most lists but what do you think of Kamara from Marseille?
 
I was all aboard the ChooTchouameni train only to see you over on the Rice wagon! :eek: :D

I have to be honest, I'm not sure Van de Beek has enough, he can't drive with the ball and his passing range isn't particularly great, if Pogba goes as expected I could see us going safe with Tielemans.

With Rice I always said that the whole "He's no better than McTominay" stuff missed the point, on the ball it arguable overall, but defensively his positioning is clearly superior, it's his standout attribute, it's the parter we'd need wth him and ludicrous price West Ham want that purs me off.

Rice and Tchouameni seem to be at the top of most lists but what do you think of Kamara from Marseille?
Rice has a lot less space to cover as West Ham sit a lot deeper with no space between midfield and defence. They counter attack a lot more often than they're pushed up with possession.

This is the difference. Mctominay could happily do the same job sitting deep in midfield, he's had countless performances against much better sides like PSG where he did that job great.

Rice won't get the luxury of sitting deep with 3 defenders around him at United. He'll be expected to push up and win the ball high. From what I've seen with England he's nothing special in this regard.
 
Rice has a lot less space to cover as West Ham sit a lot deeper with no space between midfield and defence. They counter attack a lot more often than they're pushed up with possession.

This is the difference. Mctominay could happily do the same job sitting deep in midfield, he's had countless performances against much better sides like PSG where he did that job great.

Rice won't get the luxury of sitting deep with 3 defenders around him at United. He'll be expected to push up and win the ball high. From what I've seen with England he's nothing special in this regard.

The biggest difference between the two for me is Rice doesn't lose track of runners the way McTominay does and positionally he picks up better positions off the ball. McTominay has had better performances for us as a box to box midfielder rather than a holder, he's more of a Jack of all trades master of none.
 
I was all aboard the ChooTchouameni train only to see you over on the Rice wagon! :eek: :D

I have to be honest, I'm not sure Van de Beek has enough, he can't drive with the ball and his passing range isn't particularly great, if Pogba goes as expected I could see us going safe with Tielemans.

With Rice I always said that the whole "He's no better than McTominay" stuff missed the point, on the ball it arguable overall, but defensively his positioning is clearly superior, it's his standout attribute, it's the parter we'd need wth him and ludicrous price West Ham want that purs me off.

Rice and Tchouameni seem to be at the top of most lists but what do you think of Kamara from Marseille?
Tbh with you mate I'm still on board the Tchouameni train, I really like him as a player. Both Tchouameni and Rice are showing a maturity beyond their years in a role on the pitch that is very important in the modern game. I'd be happy with either player at United.

Van de Beek as a inbetween is more than good enough IMO if the plan is to have Hannibal as the long-term play maker for the role. And that's just my opinion mate and I've never really been a big fan of Tielesman and feel we could save a good chunk of money which could go towards improving other areas if we made a effort in developing Hannibal. But maybe Solskjaer might prefer signing Tielesman.

Rice is superior to McTominay on the ball and is comfortable on either foot. Rice is actually a metronome compared to McTominay and doesn't hide on the ball unlike McTominay who we've seen go missing on the ball and have minimal touches in games where people on this forum have brought it up. The Leicester game away from home was just one example where he was hiding behind blue shirts and the stats proved it.

I honestly don't know too much about Kamara from Marseille. But from what I've read about him he hasn't maintained his early promise and could be available on a free transfer next summer.
 
Rice is bloody fantastic. He’d be a massive upgrade on everything we have. We will clearly need two midfielders next summer. Pogba will likely leave on a free, and Matic is at last doors. I suspect VdB will head out too unless he does something special in the next few months.

The goal should be Rice plus a true playmaker. A proper CM. A player like verratti, Barella, De Jong. Two of those are unattainable but that is the sort of player I’d want us to get to compliment Rice.
 
Absolutely outstanding tonight. Gets better every time I see him. Bossed Tielemens and Ndidi tonight, has everything you want in a CM.

Will end up at a top four club soon and would be ideal for us, exactly what we need.

Roy Keane - "I look at Declan Rice at 22, he's miles ahead of where I was at at that age"

But then again, Roy Keane is notoriously easily pleased...
 
Looked very good today. Wasn't focused on the game but don't recall him giving away the ball cheaply or resulting in dangerous transitions.

Fred on the other hand isn't trusted to bring the ball forward and was targeted by West Ham today to be given the ball to build from the back.

If this keeps up then Declan Rice is a clear upgrade in my books. With Fred we automatically give the opposition at least 2 dangerous transition opportunities per game. And we know how deadly transitions are in modern football.
 
He played well IMO. He was playing in a team that approached the game in a reactive manner to play on the counter. But I watched him closely and his touch and technique were on point aswell as his ability to retain possession and read the play whilst maintaining a strong positional sense. Technically he's a strong player which includes his ability to dribble which tbf is impressive and he can be used in a segundo Volante role IMO at a big club, if the coach so desired to surprise the opposition in a big game with a surprise attack through the middle.

He's a very intelligent player.
 
His passing and overall game really does remind me of Roy Keane, nothing fancy but incredibly reliable. He has to be utd's no.1 target in the summer.
 
Now you people saying he looked good today, i'm guessing he's been your preferred option for a CM. Stop watching with your bias. That wasn't a guy worth 80m+ out there today.
 
There is a presence to his game that elevates what appears to be a relatively simple skill-set. Good sharp passing, positions himself well and can carry it into space when it is on.
 
Now you people saying he looked good today, i'm guessing he's been your preferred option for a CM. Stop watching with your bias. That wasn't a guy worth 80m+ out there today.
I haven’t really wanted Rice after watching his performances for England but against us today I can clearly see what he brings that we lack. We are desperate for calmness and he brings exactly that. He was also pretty good at tackling today
 
Alongside McT who could then be a bit more adventurous that would be a lovely solid unit.

He’s only gonna go for silly money though.
 
Alongside McT who could then be a bit more adventurous that would be a lovely solid unit.

He’s only gonna go for silly money though.
Paul could probably play deeper alongside Rice, freeing up 1 more of our world class attacker to start against teams that play with a low block.
 
I’m sold on Rice now. He’s no Scholes but he’s very good at what he does.

We don’t concede that first goal with him in the team.
 
Paul could probably play deeper alongside Rice, freeing up 1 more of our world class attacker to start against teams that play with a low block.

Yep that would work for me too, if Pogba is still about.
 
Now you people saying he looked good today, i'm guessing he's been your preferred option for a CM. Stop watching with your bias. That wasn't a guy worth 80m+ out there today.
Given his age, ability and nationality whilst occupying utd's weakest position, the premium is inevitable but still 100% worth paying. It'll probably be utd's only signing and rightly so, given Pogba stays.
 
Thought he was overran for large parts of it. Fell back into his shell of hiding between the CB as the game went on.
 
West Ham looked leggy today and conceded midfield territory and he was a part of that so I don't think it should be quite this glowing.

But he did play a few nice passes, worked his arse off and he dribbled successfully on a number of occasions which was impressive. Clearly not as inhibited for West Ham as he is under Southgate.
 
His passing and overall game really does remind me of Roy Keane, nothing fancy but incredibly reliable. He has to be utd's no.1 target in the summer.
This is what we lack IMO. Someone who can be reliable in midfield and keep things ticking. I've watched Busquets so many times over the years, and what's so impressive about him is his ability to retain possession and keep it ticking without taking too many risks.
 
He was about as good as Scott today, not sure what people are seeing?

We had tonnes of chances, record attempts in the first half for this season alone.

Couple of decent interceptions but some were from awful passing from Fred and one galloping run up the pitch don’t really do it for me.

Better defensive version of Scott. Would get in our team as a DM but that’s more of an indictment of the fact we have no DM other than Matic.
 
He’s a brilliant player and absolutely walks into our side.
 
Genuinely think he's had way better games than today, thought he retreated to play as another CB.
 
He is a type of player that gives a defensive shape to your team in which turn gives an attacking shape and freedom to the team.

His passing is better for West Ham than for England.

Can Intercept a ball and either try go for a run or make a progressive pass to the best player available (not always forward).
 
Thought he was overran for large parts of it. Fell back into his shell of hiding between the CB as the game went on.
Thought so too. I didn't notice him negatively all over the game but the raving he gets here suprised me quite a bit.
 
He is a type of player that gives a defensive shape to your team in which turn gives an attacking shape and freedom to the team.

His passing is better for West Ham than for England.

Can Intercept a ball and either try go for a run or make a progressive pass to the best player available (not always forward).
There's definitely a significant difference between him for West Ham and England. This is probably what the scouts are looking at and why we're so keen. Because if you look at the England games which many are inclined to do then it's hard to see value for money.

But it's fairly evident he tries to be far more progressive. He plays some raking long balls he wouldn't even attempt for England. He seems to carry the ball more. Everything about his play is more ambitious while still very clearly being an anchor. Maybe too much so, he sat very deep today but that could be a function of West Ham's approach.
 
Rice is much more than a DM, he is a box to box player and in time will add goals to his game. He has risen to the challenge of captaining West Ham and I think he will captain England by the time he is 25. If anybody doubts his abilities take a look on youtube, or visit KUMB to see just how much the fans value him. It will take at least £100 to get him, but I think it would be money well spent
YOU WON’T BELIEVE THESE SKILLS! FT. DECLAN RICE - YouTube
 
This is what we lack IMO. Someone who can be reliable in midfield and keep things ticking. I've watched Busquets so many times over the years, and what's so impressive about him is his ability to retain possession and keep it ticking without taking too many risks.

Comparing Busquets passing to Rice? Okay.

He was fine today, but this is the kind of game which he is tailored for. He had Soucek(Another DM) next to him, and we still carved them open a lot, not sure how secure he would be playing next to a Pogba or VdB.

He's a good player for sure, but just dont think he solves our midfield problems at all.
 
Failed his audition. Dominated by a half fit Mctominay and Fred who apparently can't pass.
 
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